Two Worlds, One Country

This is the second part in our three-part series on Community Works. Skip Halpern is an author, ex-lawyer, and chair of the Page County Democratic Committee. He talks why he moved to rural Virginia, his take on the rural-urban divide, and the work he’s doing with RUBI’s Community Works program.

[2:34] Skip’s background in financial law

[6:14] Why is Page County so red?

[11:01] Why Page County got involved with Community Works

[16:30] Giving scholarships, tutoring, partnering with civic organizations

[25:50] So is Community Works working?

More from Skip:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelhalpern1/

https://wellspringsofwork.com/

Get involved with Community Works:

https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work/community-works

This is the first part in our three-part series on Community Works. Meredith Dean is Executive Director of Community Works at RUBI as well as the founder of both Healthy Floyd and Appalachian Women of Action. Meredith talks her background in organizing, breaking down liberal stereotypes of rural people, and Community Works—which encourages Democrats to, as Anthony says, “shut up and do stuff.”

[1:56] Intro and work with Appalachian Women’s Alliance

[6:53] What is Community Works?

[12:56] When liberals rethink rural stereotypes

[15:42] Community Works examples from local Democratic parties

[26:54] Get involved in your own community!

More about Meredith:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithadean/

[email protected] to contact her!

More about Community Works:

https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work/community-works

Kimber Lanning is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Local First Arizona, an organization that supports local entrepreneurs and economies. She talks her background in arts entrepreneurship, the mission of Local First Arizona, and how small business can help rural economies.

[3:22] Developing Phoenix’s arts district

[8:11] Can entrepreneurship help the world?

[13:50] Local First Arizona develops local small business

[18:12] Supporting rural and Latino entrepreneurs

[25:38] Why are rural small businesses so important?

More from Kimber:

localfirstaz.com

@LocalFirstAZ

https://www.visitphoenix.com/greater-phoenix/phoenix/downtown-phoenix/roosevelt-row/

Dan Shea is a professor of Government at Colby College and the author of many books, most recently The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and The Disuniting of America. Dan talks campaign consulting in upstate New York, the largest survey of rural voters ever done, and why conspiracy theorists aren’t as common as you might think.

[3:30] Starting out incampaign consulting

[8:40] Rural didn’t used to equal Republican

[12:52] How rural voters think about the places they live

[21:35] Rural rabble rousers are not as prevalent as you think

More from Dan:

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-rural-voter/9780231211581

Buy the book!

https://www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/dan-shea/

Anthony and Stacy Mitchell (Co-Executive Director for the Institute for Local Self

Reliance) continue their discussion from part one. They dive into why the right

is now the party of small business, the exploits of super-duo Lina Khan and

Jonathan Kanter, and how big business robs autonomy and dignity from

democracies.

[1:42] Why

small businesses matter

[9:08] North

Dakota is the only state in the union that outlaws chain pharmacies

[14:01] The

left used to be about labor and small business

[20:52] What

have Biden’s anti-trust appointees done? Lots

[25:40]

Monopolization creates powerlessness in rural areas

More from

Stacy:

ilsr.org

@stacyfmitchell

https://stacymitchell.com/front-page/

to buy Big Box Swindle

Stacy Mitchell is Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and author of the

book Big Box Swindle, as well as articles for The Atlantic, New York Times, and more. Stacy

talks how Walmart and dollar chains took over, how Amazon dwarfs them all, and ILSR’s work

to stop monopoly power both locally and nationally.

[1:35] Growing up in the north vs. the south

[4:45] Big Box Window—writing about Walmart and big retail

[11:20] Dollar chains and food deserts

[14:30] Amazon’s dominance

[22:10] Institute for Local Self-Reliance—local organizing + big picture

More about Stacy:

ilsr.org

@stacyfmitchell

https://stacymitchell.com/front-page/ to buy Big Box Swindle

Luke Mayville is the founder and director of Reclaim Idaho, a grassroots organizing movement

with a history of spearheading successful ballot initiatives in Idaho. Luke talks growing up in an

evangelical small town, Reclaim Idaho’s grassroots organizing, and their current voting reform

project.

[1:53] Growing up evangelical, getting a PhD in philosophy

[9:58] How ballot initiatives support direct democracy

[16:01] Grassroots organizing for Medicaid expansion from the bottom up

[22:58] Reclaim Idaho’s Open Ballot Initiative for voting reform

More from Luke:

reclaimidaho.org to donate or get involved

@reclaimID

@lukemayville

Lark Corbeil is an experienced journalist and the founder of Public News Service, which reaches roughly 50 million people per week through news services in 37 states, as well as the non-profit Media in the Public Interest. Lark talks growing up in two different worlds, getting her start in journalism, and founding the biggest non-profit news service you’ve never heard of.

[2:04] Growing up between Idaho and California

[5:07] Getting into news business

[7:15] Moving into activism and the start of Public News Service

[13:00] What does PNS do?

[18:32] How Lark got rural, conservative stations to run PNS

[23:12] Stories that work: making the local global and vice versa

[25:25] How PNS has made a difference

More about Lark:

@PNS_News

www.publicnewsservice.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lark-corbeil-3347b54/

Matt Morrison is the Executive Director of Working America, the largest non-union labor group in the country fighting for workers’ rights and a fair economy. Matt talks about growing up as a journalist’s kid, race and labor rights in St. Louis, and strategies for results-based organizing in working-class America. Originally aired May 25, 2023, WEHC 90.7.

[0:43] Introduction

[4:05] College and coming of age in ’90s St. Louis

[8:53] Working in politics in DC

[11:04] Results-focused organizing and Working America

[19:12] Typical progressive movement recruitment vs making space for working people

[21:25] Canvassing + data

[25:03] Results in Arizona, Pennsylvania 2022

[27:07] Community Works: building local communities with RUBI

[28:18] Moving forward

Find more about Matt:

workingamerica.org

@workingamerica

https://feeds.captivate.fm/two-worlds-one-country/

Richard Moyer is a full-time organic farmer and part-time professor of biology at King University in Bristol, VA. In this episode, Anthony and Richard talk farming and its challenges, efforts to be more self-sufficient in our homes and communities, and what seems to work to help build trust and begin to overcome the divide. This originally aired on WEHC 90.7 on May 18, 2023.

https://feeds.captivate.fm/two-worlds-one-country/